Southeast Asia Vietnam

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City Draw as Title Race Rages On

Tran Tien

Football Tribe Vietnam

 

Hanoi conceded a very late goal once again as they failed to secure all three points in their match against Ho Chi Minh City at Thong Nhat stadium. 

The match between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City was considered to have the importance of a cup final, as these two teams were standing neck and neck at the top of the table, desperately vying for the V.League title. 

The visitors controlled the game and created the majority of the chances in the first half,  but it was ultimately Ho Chi Minh City who took the lead thanks to penalty goal of Huynh Kesley. 

The second half started with a red card for Do Van Thuan of Ho Chi Minh City after a horrible tackle against Nguyen Van Quyet. 

With 10 men on the field, Ho Chi Minh City struggled to protect the scoreline and Hanoi easily scored two goals to come from behind and lead the game, and the entire division in the process. 

At that time, most fans thought about the win for Hanoi but in the final minute of injury time, Cong Thanh scored the equalizer for the hosts with a header.

The game finished as a 2-2 draw, meaning that Ho Chi Minh City still remain as league leaders with 35 points, while Hanoi in second, just a single point behind them. 

Round 18 of V.League proved to be an incredibly high-scoring set of games, with a total 22 goals being netted across seven matches. 

At the bottom of the table, Sanna Khanh Hoa remains rooted to last place despite their effort to draw 1-1 against Than Quang Ninh. Quang Nam remains in 13th, the playoff place, despite their 1-1 draw against Viettel at the Hang Day stadium.